


Appropriate Places

by bootson



Category: Bandom, Panic At The Disco, The Like, The Young Veins
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-06-14
Updated: 2010-06-14
Packaged: 2017-10-21 21:48:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/230214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bootson/pseuds/bootson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jon's getting married; Brendon and Spencer are maybe, possibly, sort of invited.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Appropriate Places

**Author's Note:**

> Title does not imply what you think it implies (minds out of the gutter!) For wedding in my random prompts from a table challenge with [](http://xscribblings.livejournal.com/profile)[**xscribblings**](http://xscribblings.livejournal.com/). This is still part of my "i'm writing bandom and not posting it outside my journal" complex...I'll get over that for [](http://hc-bingo.livejournal.com/profile)[**hc_bingo**](http://hc-bingo.livejournal.com/) , I guess. I don't know if I like this, but I don't know what to do about it. The only thing I KNOW I really dislike is the lack of Jon Walker (who I love so dearly) in exchange for so much Ryan Ross (which...I usually don't.) Whatever. I think this is my way of dealing with the split...skip ahead about six years and fix it all in subtext.

  


  
Chicago was different in the summer. Well, obviously, it was different from Chicago in the winter with it's completely unnecessary amounts of snowfall and entirely too high speed winds. For some reason, however, that wasn't what struck Spencer. He'd gotten too used to Californian summers, maybe, or blocked out other places that weren't Vegas. Maybe that's what happened when you didn't need to remember people, places, things, and travelled through most on a bus, even the places that used to mean something just sort of...blended into the mess of other nonsense. Maybe it wasn't anything of the sort and he only forgot what Illinois smelled like. Either way, he hadn't spent much time in Chicago, just passed through, put on a show, moved on to the next city for a few years.

It's not like he had anyone left in Chicago to bother going to a lot of trouble to visit, neither of them did. Not until today, anyway, not until they caught the last flight possible, wore suits that didn't stand out in a crowd and tried to wash travel weariness away in a public restroom before catching a cab and watching buildings blur through smudged glass on their way to a respectable looking hotel with a moderate sized ballroom full of flowers and evenly spaced chairs.

Brendon was fidgetting, had been the entire flight and cab ride, probably had been for days before Spencer actually noticed. The constant motion was nearly enough to set Spencer on edge, but he understood the nervous energy Brendon was dealing with and trying to disperse without anything constructive to channel it into. Instead, Spencer reached out, tapping his fingertips against Brendon's knee until Brendon started tapping his own in time.

"Maybe we shouldn't have come," Spencer muttered, leaning in until he could feel the ends of Brendon's hair stir when he exhaled. It had been...well, years, really. It probably would have been better not to reopen old wounds.

Brendon turned into him, mouth just as close to Spencer's ear before he replied. "Little late for that. You could have bailed; it wasn't your name on the RSVP card we sent."

Spencer shook his head, hiding a little behind his hair so he didn't have to see the interested glances a few girls at the end of the row in front of them kept sending back. Finally, he gave up and buried his face against Brendon's neck for a moment. "I wasn't about to do that to you. Besides, Jon invited us...or Cassie did. She's a smart one. She wouldn't have if it was going to cause a scene."

And there wouldn't be any scenes today, none other than the one everyone came to see. Still, it was awkward. They'd always planned to stay friends, Spencer knew that. Brendon, Jon, Ryan, and himself, they'd really meant it when they said they split because of the music and how it was going to destroy their friendships eventually. Actually, most of the damage had already been done and they'd all been too young to really work it out before it was too late. Nonetheless, there hadn't been time, not to fix and rebuild anything or hold onto what they'd once had when they could let their bad blood fester and turn toxic.

It had been regular life things that finally destroyed them, left them too far away to even start looking back. They weren't on the same label anymore, stopped running in the same circles long before that, and there just wasn't any reason for them keep in contact. When they accidentally ended up in the same places at the same time, they'd all turned the other way; waiting for a safer place to deal with each other. It was always something they'd get to the next day or the next, until life got in the way.

"It's fine. It's whatever. We're here, lets just watch and clap in the right places."

"Can we coo and say 'Awww' a lot, too?" Brendon was grinning when Spencer pulled back. He poked at Spencer's side, but Spencer slapped at his hand before he made contact.

"Only in all the appropriate places."

They both laughed quietly, leaning away and into their own personal bubbles. When Ryan walked in, Z leaning into his shoulder, Brendon reached over to take Spencer's hand, but otherwise didn't acknowledge it. Ryan glanced backwards, searching for someone toward the doors before he froze. Z tugged on his arm but Ryan muttered something to her and then they were both looking directly at Spencer and Brendon.

"So much for waiting for the reception," Spencer muttered, forcing himself to sit up a bit straighter as the couple backtracked. Ryan stepped around and over people until he was standing in the small space between Spencer and some elderly woman Brendon had remembered as being some aunt of Jon's or something. There was an awkward pause, everyone staring at eachother and waiting for someone else to take the lead. Yeah, this had been a really bad fucking ideas.

Ryan nudged Spencer's shoe with his own a couple times before Brendon let go of Spencer to move over and make room.

"Stop, damn Ryan. You're going to scuff them."

Ryan's grin was quick and wry, probably a bit relieved but Spencer was too out of practice to tell. "All part of my master plan." He sank into the seat, letting his shoulder brush against Spencer's. "You remember Z, right?"

"Sort of." Spencer gave her a half wave even if it made him look like a complete tool.

"Hello, boys," Z smiled but mostly kept watching Ryan. "We were looking for Brendon and that brunette. What was her name?" She didn't sound sharp or irritated, just curious and honest.

Brendon leaned around Spencer even though it was awkward with the way their hands linked. "Whatever. That was a year ago. Good to see you, kids. Nice hair, Ross."

"I grow it out just for you."

"Can I quote you via tweet on that one?"

"You're not tweeting during a wedding. I'll seriously step on your phone," Spencer promised, nudging at Brendon until he stopped jiggling his leg. Surprisingly enough, Spencer didn't feel like he was going through the motions. When confronted with Ryan, Spencer had always thought, he'd just be nodding and mumbling when he needed to. Instead, none of them seemed to be just working out the right times and right sounds to make to stave off the awkwardness that was there but minimal, considering.

It was Z's semi-distant voice that called him out. "Wouldn't that mess up your shoes, though? They look new. No one wants to ruin new shoes."

Spencer's clever retort was cut off when a door at the front of the room opened and Jon filed in with Tom and his brothers behind him. He was grinning like he always did when he was in on something no one else was privy to and all dressed up. Before Spencer realized it, he snorted. He guessed it didn't matter since Brendon was snickering at his side, pressing his mouth against Spencer's shoulder to keep the sound muffled.

"Yeah, you should have heard what Cass did to talk him into wearing that. It was hysterical. I think Tom has it recorded somewhere."

"That, I want to see."

"Why aren't you up there?" Brendon asked, leaning behind Spencer and pushing him forward by the neck. Grumbling just enough that it seemed like he was irritated, Spencer shifted to allow it. Z raised an eyebrow at him and they shared a smirk. Spencer had never much liked her before, but maybe he'd been a bit harsh when he'd met her the first few times. Maybe that was Ryan's fault or maybe it was his own and he only blamed Ryan...much as he hated to admit it, Spencer blamed Ryan for a lot of things he probably shouldn't have.

Reaching out, Ryan ruffled Brendon's hair after only a brief hesitation and was rewarded with Brendon's best indignant glare; Ryan had always liked doing that before...everything, Spencer remembered.

"Because," Ryan was saying, something soft about his voice, like he was hedging. "Cassie only wanted a set number in her wedding party. I never expected be best man or anything anyway," he shrugged. Spencer caught Z nodding and playing idly with Ryan's hair, took that to mean he needed to pay more attention. "Last I heard, I was supposed to be someone else's."

When Spencer leaned back, Brendon made a small sound but didn't complain. His lack of comment probably had something to do with how tense Spencer felt. Brendon rubbed at the back of his neck but Spencer was only distantly aware of it. He remembered that conversation, the one he'd had with Ryan when he and Haley had been seriously considering getting married, before she demanded too many things Spencer just didn't feel like giving her.

Just as the music started, "When I'm Sixty-four" of all things, Spencer's lips quirked and he shrugged, tugging Brendon closer by the elbow but letting go quickly, in favor of wrapping an arm around him. "Yeah, well, as soon as they legalize same sex marriage in California, you will be."

Ryan raised his eyebrows, looking over at Brendon who just laughed and leaned in enough to kiss the corner of Spencer's mouth.

"Well, huh."

Z laughed, a little too loudly, earning them some hard looks and mean sounding shushing noises. The bridesmaid walking down the aisle didn't pay them any attention, but Spencer glanced passed her anyway. Jon must have been seeing what the commotion was, they weren't that far back. Jon caught his eyes, his grin becoming smaller and more shy. There seemed to be something relieved about it, though, which Spencer hadn't thought would be the case. He offered his own nod and grin in response to the question he saw in Jon's eyes.

Brendon was wiggling until he held up his hands and formed a sort of demented looking cross. It took a second but Spencer held up one finger and Jon looked like he was just barely resisting chuckling at their _plus one_ sign language. So, for all his reservations and all the debating Spencer had done, the plotting involved when Brendon accepted his invitation for two when Spencer ignored his for too long...well, regardless or in spite of all that, this was probably a good idea. They were friends, always meant to be that before anything else, and they'd let everything ruin it. That didn't mean they couldn't start over, in a way.

"Bren," Spencer leaned over so Ryan wouldn't hear. "I'm never repeating this, but you know how you said weddings are all about new chapters and being giddy or whatever?"

"Is this an 'aww' appropriate moment?" Brendon asked, all fake wide-eyed innocence and tiny smirk.

Rolling his eyes, Spencer tugged him a little closer. "No. I just...you might have been onto something."

"Always am, baby, learn to listen to me more." Brendon stuck out his tongue, Spencer rolled his eyes, and Ryan made meaningful eyes at them, the type he always did when he wanted to know something but refused to ask.

Then the music changed and it didn't matter. Everyone stood, trying to catch a look at the bride, except Spencer. He glanced up to see the look of utter awe on Jon's face.

Yeah, everything was fine and this was the best venue to figure that out.

Brendon looked ecstatic and a bit smug when they sank into their seats; Spencer rolled his eyes again and tried to wipe that look off Brendon's face.

"Just so you know, I'm not marrying you."

It didn't work; Brendon just coo'ed obnoxiously in his ear.

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END   
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